A Small Tale of Blood and Hurt
by bakurasfun
Summary: A Tribute to IrishDream from Quizilla. Ryou gets back from the club and has a surprise awaiting him... NOT A YAOI


Ryou Bakura, the snow-white-haired teen, was walking up the stairs to his apartment after a long night at the club with his friends. It was a new and interesting experience for him. 'Sound Waves' wasn't really a place he would go to on his own. A night to have a good time is what people his age lived for. He found himself smiling for the first time in days. It was nice to be able to relax and live a little.

He reached his apartment door 601, put his key in the lock, and turned it until it clicked. He turned the knob and gave the door a small push and he was in. Once he closed and re-locked it he sat on the sofa in the right middle of the room, recalling his experience.

His apartment was average-sized. It had a kitchen equipped with a bar and stools; a sink to the right and on the other side was a stove and a microwave followed by a double-door refrigerator. The living room was not as compact.

The sofa Ryou was sitting on had a TV in front of it. He mostly used it to watch the news. There was soft light-brown carpeting covering the floor until you reached the kitchen, in which there was linoleum. However, the best part of his home, he found anyway, was the large French window in the left corner. He often looked out of it to help clear his mind. Behind him now was a small hall with a bathroom right when you walk in to the left, and straight ahead was his bedroom.

He was content with these accommodations; he never really wanted anything extravagant. Suddenly, he heard a voice that made him grow cold with fear. His yami had awakened.

Only now did he realize he was wearing the millennium ring, the object that connected his 'other-self' to him. He yanked on the string in a futile attempt to dispose of it, but the golden spikes that usually hung there had now lodged themselves in his chest. At this, Ryou gasped in shock.

_Who said you could take me off?_ came his Yami, harshly.

The boy lifted his shirt to see what damage had been done. It looked like someone had taken five little knives and stabbed him, but instead of inwardly the spikes were stuck horizontally and you could see exactly where they were in his skin. The wounds were bleeding only a fraction around what little could be seen of the golden spikes.

Yami Bakura, the boy's dark-half, appeared in his false form with a flash from the millennium ring. He glared down at Ryou, much like a snake would a bird.

"I told you to stay home tonight, but did you?" he said this in a tone that was calm, but waiting to strike. The calm before the storm, as one might say.

"N-no sir..." Ryou stuttered.

Ryou had gone out because his Yami was dormant. His friends had asked him to have a good time and he had forgotten what his Yami had told him.

"I'll have to teach you not to disobey me." His dark half smiled wickedly.

Ryou's eyes grew wide. He knew what was coming next. Yami Bakura reached into his pocket and grabbed a switchblade. This, however, was new to Ryou. His Yami usually used a pocketknife or whatever was available at the time. He must have picked this one up on one of his night walks. As he took the blade out Ryou started to panic.

"O-onnegai," Ryou begged, his breathing getting faster. ", Onnegai...Yami no Bakura-sama, hontou ni gomen ne!"

He wanted to run; he wanted to get as far away as possible. But he knew if he were to run that would make things twice as worse. His Yami liked it when he ran. He liked to hunt Ryou down and pin him to the ground. Sometimes he got out of being severely injured this way. Sure he would get beaten up, but it wouldn't be as bad as when his Yami was mad at him. Then, like now, there was no help for him until his dark-side was finished.

Yami Bakura grabbed Ryou by his arm and yanked him to his feet. Ryou looked down, not wanting to watch and he wanted it to be over as quickly as possible, but that didn't stop him from seeing his reflection on the blade. A tear escaped his eye. As it slowly slipped down his cheek his Yami began his punishment.

A downward slash was first. Ryou's head jerked up as he screamed. His forearm felt like it was burning where he had been cut. More tears came down and he saw the blood trickle down in sleek little patterns. He felt it was hard to turn away. Next, Yami Bakura adjusted his grip on the switchblade so he was holding it underhand. The knife would stab rather than slash; like it was meant to. Ryou was seriously afraid now. Is what he did tonight enough to anger his Yami to the breaking point?

The dark spirit pulled his light-half to him until their chests met and put his knife to his host's back. A small whimper escaped from the boy's lips as the blade pressed his skin.

"Now," Yami Bakura whispered into his light's ear. "Have you learned?"

"H-hai.. Yami no Bakura-sama."

"If you pull another stunt like this again we will resume from here."

He roughly released his host's shaking form and disappeared into the millennium ring. It took Ryou a few minutes to regain his composure. Once the fear had subsided he had to focus on the problem at hand; stopping the bleeding.

A small amount had seeped into the carpet and blood isn't that easy to remove once it had dried into the floor. This was, for the moment, was a minor detail. He would get to that eventually. His yami was very anxious. This was bad for Ryou because if his dark-side took over now he would have even less energy when he woke up tomorrow. Depending on how long Yami Bakura decided to stay out would also determine if he'd wake up tomorrow at all. Ryou would then be cursed for his weakness and the process would begin again. His Yami hated it when Ryou slept for more than a day because he wouldn't be able to take control. Yami Bakura said the night was _his _time and no weak mortal was going to stop him.

Ryou applied pressure as best he could to the wound until he reached his bathroom. His right arm hurt too much to use so he used his left to open the door, which left a bloody handprint around the knob.

He was getting tired quickly and he knew it wasn't only due to his cut. He bent down, and put his head between his knees, to see if it would help as much as his teachers said it would in health. Once he could see again he took his first-aid kit out of the bottom of the sink and slowly rose. He then turned on the foist to put his arm under the cool running water.

He washed the blood off from around the laceration, leaned to the right, and grabbed a towel to dry the area around the cut. He had to dig in his kit swiftly because blood from the the wound was threatening to leak over the side of his arm. He found the gauze, but in his haste he accidentally knocked his supplies into the wet sink.

Had he taken the time to put everything in its proper place he would have had to spend longer in the laboratory and that wasn't an option if he wanted to make it to his bed. He dressed his wound as best he could manage, then was off to his bedroom. Thankfully, it wasn't far, and as soon as he had fallen onto his bed he fell into a silent, dreamless sleep.


End file.
